Objective: To analyze the impact of maternal metal exposure during early pregnancy on the physical development of offspring at 1 and 3 years of age, so as to provide scientific evidence for reducing the adverse effects of heavy metals on their health. Methods: From 2024 to 2018, a total of 1 588 mother child pairs from the Jiangsu Birth Cohort (JBC) were included in this study. Multiple linear regression models, generalized estimating equations (GEE), and weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models were used to assess the associations between 24 urinary metal mass concentrations (adjusted for specific gravity, SG) during early pregnancy and offspring growth outcomes, including length/height for age Z score(HAZ), weight for age Z score(WAZ), weight for length/height Z score(WHZ), and head circumference for age Z score(HCAZ) at 1 and 3 years of age. Results: After adjusting for confounders, GEE analysis revealed that each natural log unit increase in maternal urinary concentrations of vanadium, tin, cerium, lead, and uranium during early pregnancy was associated with an average reduction in HCAZ by 14.29%, 4.82%, 2.62 %, 5.04 %, and 8.33%, respectively, at 1 and 3 years of age (FDR- P <0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that increased urinary vanadium concentration was associated with reduced HAZ at 1 year of age, while increased urinary concentrations of vanadium, chromium, tin, antimony, and uranium were associated with reduced HCAZ at 1 year of age (FDR- P <0.05). In the WQS regression model, each unit increase in the WQS index was associated with a 22.64% reduction in HCAZ at 1 year of age, with tin (22.2%) contributing the highest weight, followed by uranium (16.2%), lead (11.5%), vanadium (10.0%), arsenic (6.5%), and chromium (5.0%). Conclusions Prenatal exposure to specific metals and their mixtures may significantly impact the physical development of offspring at 1 and 3 years of age, particularly head circumference. These findings highlight the need to enhance monitoring of maternal metal exposure during early pregnancy to reduce the potential health risks posed by environmental metal pollution to infants and young children.

Objective:To investigate the association of exposure to PM 2.5 and its constituents during pregnancy and fetal growth and to further identify critical windows of exposure for fetal growth. Methods:We included 4 089 mother-child pairs from the Jiangsu Birth Cohort Study between January 2016 and October 2019. Data of general characteristics, clinical information, daily average PM 2.5 exposure, and its constituents during pregnancy were collected. Fetal growth parameters, including head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), and femur length (FL), were measured by ultrasound after 20 weeks of gestation, and then estimated fetal weight (EFW) was calculated. Generalized linear mixed models were adopted to examine the associations of prenatal exposure to PM 2.5 and its constituents with fetal growth. Distributed lag nonlinear models were used to identify critical exposure windows for each outcome. Results:A 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 exposure during pregnancy was associated with a decrease of 0.025 ( β=-0.025, 95% CI: -0.048- -0.001) in HC Z-score, 0.026 ( β=-0.026, 95% CI: -0.049- -0.003) in AC Z-score, and 0.028 ( β=-0.028, 95% CI:-0.052--0.004) in EFW Z-score, along with an increased risk of 8.5% ( RR=1.085, 95% CI: 1.010-1.165) and 13.5% ( RR=1.135, 95% CI: 1.016-1.268) for undergrowth of HC and EFW, respectively. Regarding PM 2.5 constituents, prenatal exposure to black carbon, organic matter, nitrate, sulfate (SO 42-) and ammonium consistently correlated with decreased HC Z-score. SO 42- exposure was also associated with decreased FL Z-scores. In addition, we found that gestational weeks 2-5 were critical windows for HC, weeks 4-13 and 19-40 for AC, weeks 4-13 and 23-37 for FL, and weeks 4-12 and 20-40 for EFW. Conclusions:Our findings demonstrated that exposure to PM 2.5 and its constituents during pregnancy could adversely affect fetal growth and the critical windows for different fetal growth parameters are not completely consistent.

Birth cohort study has played an important role in exploring the effect of exposures in early life on long-term health of offspring. With the rapid increase of problems of reproductive health among couples at childbearing age, the assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been widely introduced into clinical practice. However, the influences of ART on long-term outcomes of mothers and infants have not been fully studied. In 2016, the China National Birth Cohort (CNBC), a multicenter prospective cohort study recruiting families with ART-conceived pregnancies and spontaneous-conceived pregnancies simultaneously was launched officially. By June 30, 2021, a total of 72 000 families covering 39 000 ART- pregnancies and 33 000 spontaneous- pregnancies have been recruited in the study, their information and biological samples were collected at multiple time points, i.e., before assisted reproductive treatment, in embryo transfer period, in first, second and third trimesters, at delivery, and at 42 days after birth, 6 months, 1 year old and 3 years old. The main objectives of this study are to assess the development and health of offspring born after ART treatment, identify risk factors associated with adverse birth outcomes and childhood diseases and provide scientific basis for the strategies to improve the quality of new birth population. This paper will give a brief introduction to the establishment and research progress of CNBC.

Objective:To explore the intervention effect of sensorimotor training on cognitive function, balance and fall risk of elderly patients with schizophrenia.Methods:The 60 hospitalized elderly schizophrenic patients in Wuxi Mental Health Center were randomly divided into experimental group and control group from June to September 2021, with 30 cases in each group. The control group implemented traditional exercise on the basis of routine nursing. The experimental group received 8-week and 24 times sensorimotor training on the basis of the routine nursing. The Chinese version of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to assess the cognitive level of patients, the Modified Morse Fall Scale (MMFS) was used to assess the risk of falls, and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was used to assess the balance function.Results:After 8 weeks of intervention, the total score of MMSE was (26.72 ± 1.71), higher than the total score of the control group (22.36 ± 1.93), the factor scores of temporal orientation, spatial orientation, recollection, attention and calculation, memory and language ability in the experimental group were (4.90 ± 0.31), (4.72 ± 0.53), (2.86 ± 0.35), (4.66 ± 0.61), (2.83 ± 0.47), (6.76 ± 1.09), higher than scores of the control group (4.36 ± 0.56), (3.93 ± 0.66), (2.57 ± 0.50), (3.64 ± 1.03), (2.18 ± 0.67), (5.68 ± 1.02), and the difference was statistically significant( t values were 2.53-9.06, all P< 0.05). The total score of MMFS in the experimental group was (5.93 ± 1.49), which was lower than that in the control group (8.75 ± 2.30). The difference was statistically significant ( t=-5.51, P<0.01). The total score of BBS in the experimental group was (38.83 ± 1.71), which was higher than that in the control group (30.89 ± 1.93). The difference was statistically significant ( t=16.43, P<0.01). Conclusions:Sensorimotor training can improve the level of balance, cognitive function and reduce the risk of falls in elderly patients with schizophrenia.

Birth cohort is an effective method to explore the relationship between various prepregnant and pregnant exposures and the health of fetuses, infants and young children. It is a long construction period to build a birth cohort and the quality of research may be affected by many factors. This paper reviews the quality assurance and quality control measures in the process of China National Birth Cohort (CNBC), and summarizes the construction experience. We aim to provide experience for related cohort studies, which could improve the quality of cohort studies through removing the impact of related factors. CNBC adopted a series of measures to ensure the quality of research in the top-level design of quality assurance, including screening research center, developing member management system, formulating standard operating procedures and training staff by it. In terms of quality control, it includes real-time, timely and timing quality control for the process of data generation, full-cycle quality control for biological sample collection, processing, storage and comprehensive three-dimensional quality control for staff training, supervision and quantitative assessment.

Objective:To explore the effects of environmental, genetic factors as well as the interactions in early life on the short-term and long-term health of offspring and to systematically evaluate the pregnancy outcomes and health of offspring after birth between families with assisted reproductive technology (ART) conception and families with spontaneous conception.Methods:The China National Birth Cohort (CNBC), a multicenter prospective birth cohort study, includes both families with ART conception and families with spontaneous conception. Since 2016, CNBC has recruited families from 24 hospitals located in 12 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout China. Information and biospecimens were collected before ART treatment, embryo transfer, at early, second, third trimester and delivery, and at 42 days, 6, 12 and 36 months after birth.Results:By June 2020, CNBC had included 27 044 families with ART conception and 29 589 families with spontaneous conception. The majority of the participants are urban residents. Among the families with ART conception, 65.5% of the men and 63.7% of the women had college degrees or higher. The mean age distribution of men and women was (33.83±5.52) and (32.38±4.67) years. 83.2% of women were primiparas, and the prevalence rates of current regular smokers and current alcohol drinkers were 0.8% and 2.1% in women. Among the families with spontaneous conception, 81.5% of the men and 86.5% of the women had college degrees or higher. The mean age distribution of men and women was (32.06±5.09) and (30.40±4.27) years. 67.2% of women were primiparas, and the prevalence rates of current regular smokers and current alcohol drinkers were 0.1% and 2.2% in women. The baseline characteristics were different between the families with ART conception and spontaneous conception in different regions.Conclusion:CNBC provides a powerful and rich resource in studying the impact of genetic, environmental factors and interactions in early life and ART treatment on the health of offspring after birth.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a representative disease of children's neurodevelopmental disorders, brings huge pressure and financial burden to families and society. It is of great significance to explore its etiology and pathogenesis. Therefore, we established an ASD Cohort based on the existing China National Birth Cohort (CNBC), which applied parallel design to recruit and follow up families who achieved pregnancy after receiving assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and families with spontaneous conception. The main aims of this study are to compare the incidence of ASD among children born after ART with those born under spontaneous pregnancy, and to evaluate the impact of ART on the neurobehavioral development of offspring. Additionally, with a variety of clinical and behavioral related information collected during pregnancy and at early life of offspring, we are able to investigate the risk factors associated with ASD comprehensively. This article briefly introduces the objectives, contents, preliminary progress, strength and limitations, as well as further prospects of the ASD cohort study, mainly focusing on the overall design and current progress.

The importance of gut microbes to human health has gradually attracted attention. With the use of animal models, it has been revealed that maternal microbes during pregnancy could influence their children's health outcomes through shaping their microbial composition and regulating the development of their metabolic and immune system. However, the physiological mechanism of the human body is more complex and is affected by the interaction of multiple factors. The research results obtained from animal models are often inconsistent with human studies. At present, the influence of maternal intestinal microbes during pregnancy on the microbial colonization in their offspring and on a series of children's health outcomes is still unclear. Establishing a sub-cohort to detect the microbiome of the women across pregnancy and of their offspring, and further to integrate with variety of environmental and behavioral exposures can better provide reliable support for the research on the mechanism of children's health and diseases. This paper briefly introduces the research objectives, content, progress, strength and limitations of the sub-cohort study.

Objective To evaluate the impact of the re-modified Sugiura procedure on portal hemodynamics and liver function in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension.Methods Forty patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension who underwent the re-modified Sugiura procedure in the Yichang Second People's Hospital from June 2006 to October 2014 were studied.Changes in the free portal pressure (FPP),portal venous flow (PVF) and liver functions before and after operation were analyzed.Results (1) The FPP at different phases of the operation (after opening the abdomen,after splenectomy,and after devascularization) were (43.2 ± 1.8) cmH2O,(34.8 ± 1.6) cmH2O and (35.2 ± 1.7) cmH2O,respectively.There were significant differences in FPP between the phases of after splenectomy and after opening the abdomen,as well as after devascularization and after opening the abdomen (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in FPP between after devascularization and after splenectomy (P ＞ O.05).(2) The PVF,which were measured with Doppler sonography at 4 time points (preoperative 1 day,postoperative 10 days,postoperative 6 months,postoperative 18 months),were (1 420.4 ± 137.7) ml/min,(1 205.2 ± 126.7) ml/min,(875.8 ± 118.0) ml/min and (893.8 ± 114.7) n1/min,respectively.There were significant differences in PVF between postoperative 10 days and preoperative 1 day,between postoperative 6 months and postoperative 10 days,as well as between postoperative 18 months and preoperative 1 day (P ＜0.05).There was no significant difference in PVF between postoperative 18 months and postoperative 6 months (P ＞0.05).(3)The liver functions were evaluated using the Child-Pugh score at 4 time points (preoperative 1 day,postoperative 10 days,postoperative 6 months,postoperative 18 months).There were no significant differences among the time points,(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The re-modified Sugiura's procedure durably,appropriately and effectively reduced the PVF and FPP,but it did not have any negative effects on the liver functions of patients with cirrhosis.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of re-modified Sugiura procedure for the treatment of portal hypertension.Methods The retrospective cohort study was adopted.The clinical data of 119 patients with portal hypertension who were admitted to Second People's Hospital of Yichang from June 2006 to October 2014 were collected.Seventy-two patients who underwent pericardial devascularization were allocated into the Hassab group,and the other 47 patients who underwent the re-modified Sugiura procedure were allocated into the R-M Sugiura group.All the patients firstly underwent splenectomy.The patients of the Hassab group received the classical surgery of pericardial devascularization,and the operation in the R-M Sugiura group was improved on the modified Sugiura procedure in several aspects:(1) the cardia was transected obliquely.(2) Paraesophageal vessels were preserved by selective pericardial devascularization.(3) The pedicled omentum covered the anterior anastomosis and was sutured to the posterior abdominal wall.Observed indices included (1) intraoperative and postoperative situations:operation time,volume of intraoperative blood loss,postoperative anal exhaust time and duration of postoperative hospital stay.(2) Postoperative complications:postoperative pleural effusion,perioperative digestive tract re-bleeding,difficult swallowing,portal vein thrombosis and gastric dynamic dysfunction.(3) Situation of follow-up.The follow-up was performed by telephone interview and outpatient examination to observe the grading of the esophageal varices at postoperative month 6 and 18 using gastroscope till February 2016.Measurement data with normal distribution were presented as x ± s,and comparison between groups was done by the t test.Count data were analyzed by the chi-square test.Ranked data were analyzed by Wilcoxon rank test.Results (1) Intraoperative and postoperative situations:operation time of the Hassab group and the R-M Sugiura group was (201 ± 27) minutes and (255 ± 32) minutes,respectively,with a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (t =9.67,P ＜ 0.05).The volume of intraoperative blood loss,postoperative anal exhaust time and duration of postoperative hospital stay were (380 ± 86) mL,(2.7 ± 0.7) days,(14.2 ± 2.4) days in the Hassab group and (401 ± 72) mL,(3.0 ± 1.7) days,(15.1 ± 2.7) days in the R-M Sugiura group,respectively,showing no statistically significant difference (t =1.35,1.26,1.86,P ＞ 0.05).(2) Postoperative complications:dysphagia was detected in 3 patients of the Hassab group and in 10 patients of the R-M Sugiura group at the postoperative day 10,with a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (x2 =0.86,P ＜ 0.05).However,dysphagia was detected in 1 patient of the Hassab group and in 4 patients of the R-M Sugiura group at the postoperative day 20,showing no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (x2 =2.03,P ＞ 0.05).The number of postoperative pleural effusion,perioperative digestive tract rebleeding,portal vein thrombosis and gastric dynamic dysfunction of the Hassab group and the R-M Sugiura group were 23,6,10,8 cases and 20,1,6,6 cases,respectively,showing no statistically significant difference (x2=1.39,1.02,0.03,0.08,P ＞ 0.05).(3) Situation of follow-up:all the patients were reexamined using gastroscope to observe the grading of esophageal varices.There were 0,7,56,9 patients of G0,G Ⅰ,G Ⅱ,G Ⅲ grading of varices in the Hassab group and 35,12,0,0 patients in the R-M Sugiura group at postoperative month 6,showing a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (Z =-9.64,P ＜ 0.05).There were 0,0,48,24 patients of G0,G Ⅰ,G Ⅱ,G Ⅲ grading of varices in the Hassab group and 24,20,3,0 patients in the R-M Sugiura group at postoperative month 18,showing a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (Z =-9.28,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The re-modified Sugiura procedure is more effective than the Hassab operation in curing portal hypertension,and it could also reduce the rate of rehemorrhage and improve the short-term and long-term prognosis.